Far Sight
by Kitten
Summary: Sheska's day is not going well. A seemingly innocent visit with a friend spirals out of control and leads her entire world being turned upside down. Now left with powers she barely understands and running from monsters at every turn, Sheska is protected by a single promise with the knowledge that adventures can get someone like her killed.
1. Chapter 1

_The sound of explosions rent the air._

"I never should have drug you into this, Sheska." She told the sobbing bespectacled woman whose lap she rested on. "This is all my fault."

Sheska gulped hard, hot tears slipping down her cheeks as she whispered a denial.

"I shouldn't have just stood there — and you _warned_ me but I went ahead and now..." exclaimed the older woman shaking her head, plastering her short chestnut hair to her face.

Tears dripped down, striking the blindfolded girl on her pale cheeks. She reached up with a bloodied hand and touched the droplets before touching her fingertips to her forehead. Then she smiled up at Sheska, lifting her arms up to her and automatically Sheska placed them on her cheeks.

"Shh." The girl told her, moving her hands under Sheska's glasses and over her hazel eyes. "I told you if you came with me, nothing would ever hurt you."

All of a sudden, images and memories not her own invaded Sheska's brain. The former librarian let out a choked scream as she saw the nameless girl screaming and madly clawing at her eyes. Blood rushing out of the missing wedged portion of the girl's face. Her laughing in relief, blond hair slick with blood, still clutching the hatchet she used.

Sheska clawed at the slender hands, her glasses falling to the floor, her mouth working silently as another wave of sounds and images poured into her mind.

"_**Monster**_**, **_**Abomination**__!_" a familiar voice screamed from the blurred shadows.

_"He'll never love you." _Said a woman's ruby red lips with a coy smile.

_"Never call me that! I am your master!" _shrieked another angry woman's crimson lips.

A nearby explosion and the sensation of being in motion jolted Sheska into consciousness. She opened her eyes and spied a rippling black blur, then a flash of white.

"If you're done staring at my ass, will you start running on your own!?" Envy snapped. Sheska looked up disoriented and found the spiky haired homunculus racing down hallways with her tossed over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

"What's—" she said before Envy cut her off.

"Going on? Half of Central's military is shooting at us." He snapped at her... at least Sheska supposed it was a he.

Just then a bullet tore away a piece of the wall inches away from Sheska's head. She let out a scream and grabbed the first thing her hands could grasp: Envy's rump. The only reaction he gave was a small jolt and noise before ducking into a conveniently located broom closet.

"Well that was _fun_." Envy commented as he dumped Sheska unceremoniously to the ground. "Remind me to send the Führer a card."

"Ok…" she replied faintly as the sin leaned against the door and she scooted to the other end of the small dusky room.

Sheska took this time to study the homunculus and gather her scattered wits. His hair was dark green, long and spiky. There was a restless energy about his movements. The darting of his violet gaze between the door and her then back again with every explosion. The muscles beneath his sinewy legs coiled as Envy began to pace.

"Uh-h"

"Shut up." Envy snapped. "And quit staring at me! You would think you'd never seen a guy before."

"Not one wearing a skirt." Sheska muttered darkly. She crossed her arms in front of her as she scowled.

"Do you mind explaining how and why half of the army is currently shooting and trying to hunt us down?" she asked bitterly.

Envy sighed and leaned back up against the door. His face clouded with uneasiness before he casually inquired, "How much do you know about Nicollete?"

"Nicollete?"

The homunculus began pacing again. Sheska watched him for a moment, sensing his agitation and just when she opened her mouth to say something, Envy spoke.

"The blind girl you came here with? Don't tell me you didn't know the name of the person who took a bullet and died for you?"

Sheska felt herself begin to tremble. A sob escaped from her mouth before tears came pouring from her eyes. It wasn't the caustic remark that hurt. It was the memory of a young girl with a sweet smile and a blindfold over her eyes that caused a raw and primitive grief to overwhelm her.

She felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up startled to find Envy kneeling in front of her. He wasn't looking at her, instead glaring at a point off to one side but she figured it was the thought behind the action that counted.

"I read to her." Sheska said with a sniff. "It was one of the jobs I used to have at the library. Read to the patients in the institution; make them forget where they were for the moment. She was one of the teenagers there."

"She ever mentioned how she became blind?" Envy inquired with a faint smile. Sheska shook her head and furiously wiped her eyes. He rose to his feet, walked over and pressed his ear to the door.

"Did she ever tell you something that later came true?" he asked indifferently and ice suddenly ran through her veins. Sheska gasped and Envy shot at her a grin over his shoulder.

"So, you knew _that_ much."

"H-how d-did—"

Envy snickered, "Let's just say her and I had a… _history_."

Before Sheska could reply however, the homunculus held up a hand to silence her and focused his attention on the door. The myopic young woman was quiet only because she sensed he'd silence her himself if provoked.

She _really_ didn't want to irritate him.

"Here's the plan," Envy told her. "We're going to make a break for it as soon as the hall clears."

"And then what?" Sheska asked quietly. "I can go back home and forget I helped an escapee from a mental hospital break you out?"

Envy turned and shot her a wry look over his shoulder, "You can forget about ever going home."

"Y-you're kidnapping me?!" she squeaked as a surge of fear coursed through her body.

"I knew I shouldn't have listened to her when she said she wanted to help out a friend!" Sheska cried loudly as Envy turned and put his ear back to the door. "She escaped from a mental hospital, _of course_ she'd be friends with a cross dressing alien guy captured by the military!"

"_Alien_?! Oh quit your whining." He snapped. "You think I want to be stuck with a four eyed, homely ex librarian who has no social life whatsoever."

"I do _too _have a social life!" Sheska retorted. "And how are you 'stuck with me'—_you're_ the abductor!"

"I'm not kidnapping you!" Envy exclaimed in frustration.

"Then what would you call it?"

Before Sheska could blink, the homunculus was across the room, had her on her feet and viciously gripped her by her shoulders. Violet eyes blazing with hatred bore down on her.

"You had best shut up and do what I say." Envy growled and Sheska flinched.

"Understand?" He added with a rough shake and she nodded. Envy released her and went back to the door to listen. The sound of boots running past the door came and went as Envy cracked open the door and peeked outside.

"It's clear, let's go" he told Sheska opening the door wider and motioned to her. When she didn't come, Envy turned and glared at her.

The bespectacled young woman still stood where he had left her shaking like a leaf. She had her arms wrapped around her as if they could offer her solace. Her head was bowed but the homunculus could see tears run down her cheeks. Envy sighed, his anger cooling at the pathetic sight Sheska made in her sensible shoes, plain green skirt and green and tan striped blouse.

"I'll explain everything once we're safe." He told her. She looked up at him meekly, took a step and reached for his proffered hand. It closed around hers gently as they both cautiously stepped outside the closet.

Later on Sheska couldn't remember how her and Envy made it out of the Central Military Headquarters. She couldn't recall exactly how they eluded the soldiers stationed there and made it to the train station. Nor could Sheska exactly remember how her and Envy got onto a departing train, only that they did and she was currently curled up in a luggage car. Across from her nearest to the doors, Envy sat watching her watch him.

"Are we safe now?" she asked breaking the silence that reigned between them.

"For now."

"Will you explain why I can't go home?" Sheska asked wearily and Envy sighed.

"Do you want the whole story or parts that pertain to you?"

"The parts that involve me."

Envy chuckled and muttered to himself, "Yeah, it's not important to know everything yet."

"The reason you can't go home" he told her with a smirk. "Is because you are now a target."

"A target?!" Sheska repeated shrilly sitting up suddenly. "Why am I..W-who'd?"

"My master would like to see you because of what Nicollete did to you." He answered cheerfully.

"What did she do to me?" she demanded. "Am I going to die? Did she —" Envy's snickering cut her off.

"Remember that ability of hers?" he inquired, adding in case Sheska was as dumb as she looked to him. "The one where she could tell the future?"

The young woman nodded mutely and Envy smirked.

"You have it now."

Envy waited patiently amused for the eventual explosion of emotions. The homunculus could see a mix of outrage, shock and confusion float across her face before she let out an earsplitting shriek.

"I should have listened to my mother and married a shoe maker!" Sheska screamed loud enough to force Envy to cover his ears from the shrill onslaught. "Now I've been abducted by an alien!"

"_I'm not an alien_!"

Sheska seemed to have ignored Envy's retort but before she could continue her frantic tirade, a knife-like pain shot suddenly through her eyes and everything shifted. It came as a brief flash but Sheska could see the brief scene clearly played out before drifting off into unconsciousness.

A stunning pale woman with full luscious dark tresses and violet eyes sauntered down the aisle of the train with a mission. She wore a dark green dress that clung to her shapely figure and displayed her ample bosom to those who chanced a glimpse of her. Displayed quite prominently on her chest was a tattoo of a red winged serpent consuming its tail.

_An ouroboros_, something inside Sheska seemed to say.

When she awoke what seemed moments later, Sheska found Envy at her side looking at her with some concern. He had pushed her glasses away from her face and leaned close to examine her pupils, eliciting a blush from Sheska. The only indication that Envy reactioned was a brief quirk of his lips.

"W-what was that?" she gasped suddenly aware her head felt as if someone slammed a few dictionaries against her brain. Envy smirked as he slid her glasses back into place and leaned away from her.

"You saw something?"

"A prostitute walking down the aisle of a train."

All humor faded from the homunculi's face and a fierce scowl replaced it. He sprang to his feet and jerked Sheska to her own, ignoring her hiss of pain.

"Did she look like this?" Envy demanded before a waved of white light passed over his body and the exact image of Sheska's vision stood before her.

She gasped and pointed, "That's her!"

Another wave of light and Envy was back to his original form with a string of curses. He roughly seized her by the wrist and went to turn when out of the blue, razor sharp claws shot through the door to the luggage car and pierced Envy through chest, nearly missing Sheska herself by an inch. The homunculus hadn't a chance to make a sound as the claws jerked themselves free and the door behind him opened.

Lust sauntered inside as Envy fell to the ground in a puddle of blood. Sheska covered her mouth to stifle her scream of horror as she watched the life in her companion's eyes die out. A sultry chuckle and arms slithered out and wrapped themselves around from behind the human girl.

"Don't be too shocked." Lust purred in Sheska's ear. "Just wait. Envy will pop back up any minute."

True to the homunculi's words, Envy jerked and let in a gasp of air…before a claw came up from behind Sheska and stabbed him right between the eyes.

"We could play this game forever." Lust said jerking her claw free, splattering blood across Sheska's face. "It would be really quite amusing to continue but this is our stop. The Master doesn't like to wait."

Lust flung out an arm behind both of them and the side of the train car fell apart in pieces. She tightened her grip around the petrified human, stepping back toward the opening when suddenly Envy's hand shot out. He jerked Sheska from Lust, swept her legs out from beneath the sin, nearly at the same moment he kicked the homunculus in the stomach. The resulting momentum sent Lust straight out of the opening and tumbling off the train.

"That's what you get for being arrogant." Envy growled rising to his feet, wiping the blood from his face. He still was firmly gripping Sheska's wrist, so he felt when she began trembling.

"This can't be real." She whispered staring at where Lust vanished. "I didn't just—. That woman didn't—." Sheska spun and faced Envy, tears streaking down her cheeks. "You're not human."

"Not a bit."

Sheska felt the world begin to slip away from her. Black appeared along the edge of her vision. Colors blurred and then there was silence and darkness.

* * *

><p><em>And so ends chapter one of my first full length FMA fan fic. <em>


	2. Chapter 2

Edward Elric had never seen battle. He had never seen the scars bullets could make when striking flesh or walls. He never saw what an explosion could do to a solider or a building, but he supposed as he walked down the halls of Central Military Headquarters, this is what war would look like.

He strode past small groups of soldiers surrounded by medics bandaging head wounds and handing out band aids to those with less severe injuries. Most were covered in black soot, their faces marred by bruises and cuts. Only one or two were still lying on the floor unconscious.

A few of the men gave the short blond teen odd looks and asked someone close who Edward was. A brief glance at the watch chain dangling out from his pocket or recognition of the bright red coat over his black clothes confirmed his identity as the infamous Fullmetal Alchemist.

Edward reached the office of Colonel Roy Mustang and politely knocked on the closed door. His gold eyes narrowed when he heard his commanding officer clear his throat and told him in a terse voice to come in.

Roy Mustang sat behind his desk liken to a king sitting on his throne. His dark hair was stylishly ruffled, more so than usual Edward noted. His eyes were blank dark mirrors, but Ed swore he detected some weariness there. His blue military uniform however was just as crisp and pressed as always. No doubt, the mysteriously absent Lieutenant Hawkeye was responsible.

Edward took his normal seat on the couch and waited for the older man to speak, rabid thoughts zipping through his mind. _Hawkeye has been injured. No wait, she'd never be so careless to get injured when she has to baby-sit Mustang. Hawkeye is probably dropping off paperwork for the jerk._

_ Maybe he thinks there's something wrong with Al. It __**is**__ unusual for him to not come report in with me. I'll tell him that my brother found another kitten and is currently at the hotel playing with it before he's forced to get rid of it._

Edward opened his mouth to just do that when Mustang cut him off, his words curt, grim and somber.

"Sheska was abducted last night."

"What?"

The teen's racing thoughts collided with one another leaving him feeling confused and strangely numb. Mustang sighed and began reading from a sheet of paper sitting on his desk.

"Capture of a live homunculi subject was successfully executed with the assistance of an unknown female."

"What?!" Ed squawked interrupting the colonel's report. "When-what…_which_ one?!"

Roy looked up from the sheet of paper with a smirk, "It doesn't matter anymore." He lifted the paper and continued reading.

"…Same unknown female later returned with a woman later identified as Sheska, a former library worker and transcriber for the military and assisted in the escape of the homunculi. The unknown female was shot and killed while the homunculus escaped with Sheska as a possible hostage."

"This can't be true. Sheska helping one of those _monsters_?" Edward screamed jumping up to his feet. "There's no _'possible hostage'_ about it. She _was_ kidnapped."

Mustang calmly watched as the teen began to angrily pace. Occasionally Edward would clench his fists and let out a frustrated noise. He watched the teen irritably fidget a moment more before speaking up.

"Hawkeye spoke to a few of the soldiers who were there. They mentioned the unknown female that Sheska came in with wore a blindfold over her eyes. That they both apparently knew one another."

"Did they hear a name?" Edward asked ceasing his pacing. Mustang shook his head but gave the teen his trademark '_I know something you don't_' smirk. He pulled out a thick file and handed it to Ed.

"Her name was Nicollete Azure." he said as Ed read the report. "She was a resident at a mental institution due to the fact that when she was six years old, she carved out her eyes."

Edward's face went pale as he flipped through the few pictures of the dead girl without her blindfold.

"When she was asked why she did it, Miss Azure replied '_So I wouldn't have to see it anymore_.' None of the doctors could make her tell them what it was she saw. But—"

"But what?" Edward closed the file and tossed it onto Mustang's desk.

"She was a rather friendly person." Mustang said abruptly changing the subject. "The nurses said even the Führer would come and play chess. They'd speak for hours about trivial things. How's the job? How's your master? Getting along with everyone? Things like that."

Edward frowned and Mustang continued still smirking.

"She escaped from the institution four days ago, managing somehow to slip out of her room, elude security and navigate through the city to… guess whose house."

"Sheska's."

"Correct." Mustang replied. "Her neighbors reported seeing someone climb up onto the roof and grab the house key hidden there. None of them did anything because when they spoke with Sheska later and she told them it was a friend."

"Some friend." Edward muttered. "She goes and gets her kidnapped by one of those monsters."

Just then Hawkeye marched in with a stack of papers. She went over, laid them gently on the colonel's desk and leaned over whispering something in his ear. Mustang whispered something back and the lieutenant left as abruptly as she came.

During the time Mustang read the reports, Edward quietly paced and mulled over the facts he currently had. _A mentally ill girl escaped from the hospital where she lived, somehow helped the military capture something that not even Ed himself could beat and then ran off to Sheska's house._

Edward ran his fingers through his messy bangs. _That can't be right! This girl was blind, looked like she was the size of a bean…__**How the heck?**_

_ And how did she know where Sheska lived? What's her connection to the Führer? Wait…_How is your master?_ Why would the girl ask—_

Edward came to the same startling revelation as the colonel when the man finally finished reading the new information Hawkeye had gathered.

"Falman reported in some interesting facts, would you like to hear them?" Mustang inquired and the teen nodded.

* * *

><p><span>Author's note<span>: _Oooo I wonder what he found out. Sadly you won't know til much later but in the meanwhile I'd like to thank Evilkitten3, Lady Elvira and some review/favorite/story alert m__eans alot to me. As thanks here's a preview for the next chapter: A promise made. A deadly encounter. "So where's your friend?" Sheska asked. "__In a lab probably getting anal probed."_


	3. Chapter 3

_"You want to do __**what**__?!" Sheska asked the blind girl incredulously. The girl laughed and innocently cocked her head to one side._

_ "I want to go visit a friend." She repeated with a smile. "Last time we saw each other I wasn't very nice to him so I want to go back and apologize."_

_ "No." Sheska replied immediately. Nervously she ran her hands through her hair. "I let you stay here for two days after you escaped from the hospital. I won't help you anymore."_

_ "Come on." Nicollete chided as Sheska paced. "Don't you want to have an adventure like the ones you've read about in books?"_

_ "I could be put away for…for… aiding and abetting!" Sheska exclaimed shrilly and the blind girl burst into laughter._

_ "You make me sound like a criminal." She cackled. "It'll be fine. You can't be put away for aiding and abetting because you didn't help me escape, I did that on my own. Plus I escaped from a __**hospital**__ not __**prison**__."_

_ Sheska was about to open her mouth to argue when Nicollete added. "__**And**__ you've done the best thing for an escaped patient: keep them in one place and away from the general public."_

_ "But you want to go out now!" Sheska whined and the other girl moved her shoulders in a shrug of indifference._

_ "I want you to go with me."_

_ "No!"_

_ "It'll be an adventure."_

_ "Adventures can get someone like me killed!"_

_ "If you come with me I promise nothing will ever harm you." she solemnly swore and all resistance poured from Sheska's body. _

_ Yes, the bespectacled young woman secretly longed for an adventure like the ones she read in books. She wanted to be the heroine that the hero fought alongside against the forces of evil. She desired to be a femme fatale that could use her wiles to steal into buildings and such._

_ Only, she wasn't very brave or very pretty. In fact if she were a character in a book, Sheska suspected she'd be the sidekick's annoying friend or a random background character that is used briefly just to move the plot along. Nothing like the blind girl sitting before her._

_ But this girl was offering her a chance. An adventure where the danger was harmless and easily controlled. Simply take a blind mentally ill girl to visit a friend, then take her back to the hospital and come home the heroine. Sheska sighed and Nicollete smiled sensing victory._

_ "Where is your friend at?" the older girl asked reconciled to her fate._

_ "Military Headquarters."_

_ The two girls took a taxi to the multi-story building. Since Sheska was more familiar with the complex, seeing how she worked there, she led the blind girl through the hall up to the front desk. She spoke briefly with the woman in charge of documenting who came and went explaining hers and the blind girl's business there._

_ "We're just meeting up with a friend." Sheska told her nervously and the girl beside of her helped out by adding._

_ "We're supposed to see a show __**but**__..You know how it is when you get so tied up with work y'just lose track of time." _

_ The woman behind the desk nodded and motioned them to go ahead with a friendly smile._

_ "So where is your friend?" Sheska whispered as they walked._

_ "In a lab probably getting anal probed." she replied casually and her friend made a startled noise and did a double take._

_ "Why is your friend getting—"_

_ "You'll see."_

_ The blind girl began unerringly leading Sheska by the hand toward her mysterious friend, deftly avoiding random soldiers within the building. It was when the two heard someone angrily call out behind them, the former librarian began to have doubts about their adventure._

_ "What are you two doing in this area?" the soldier demanded marching toward them. Sheska trembled in fright, her voice caught somewhere in her throat which left the unfrozen girl at her side to answer the man._

_ "We're looking for my friend." the blind girl replied brightly. "Have you seen him?"_

_ The soldier relaxed for an instant and that was when she struck. In one smooth move, Nicollete released Sheska's hand, caught the man straight in the gut with a punch then slammed her elbow down on the back his exposed head. He was unconscious in less than five seconds, leaving the former librarian speechless._

_ "There's a broom closet to your left, help me drag him in." the blind girl ordered already grabbing a hold of the man's shoulders._

_ "H-how did—wh—what did you—?" Sheska sputtered as she grabbed a hold of the man's legs beneath his knees._

_ "You don't need eyes to kick butt." Was all the blind girl said as together they stashed the guard's body._

_ Not long after the first, another soldier was similarly dispatched by sweeping the legs out from him and kicking the man in the face. He too was hidden away, this time in an empty office before the two young ladies continued._

_ The lab was empty, lights turned off but machines left running. Attached to the machines chained to a table was the homunculus Sheska would come to know as Envy._

_ "Hello old friend." Nicollete greeted warmly as her and Sheska walked in. His head slowly turned toward her and unfocused violet eyes peered at her._

_ "Here to see your handy work?" He muttered then suddenly snickered. "Oh wait, you're not supposed be able to see."_

_ "Still a jerk even while heavily medicated." She replied with a smirk. "Anyway, we're here to bust you out."_

_ "What?! You can't be serious" Sheska exclaimed as the blind girl began turning off machines and yanking out I.V.'s. "I thought you said you wanted to just talk."_

_ "Yeah, didn't you just put me here?" Envy asked his words slightly less slurred than before._

_ "After seeing the deplorable conditions of your internment—" she began before Sheska interrupted._

_ "You're blind! How can you see __**anything**__?!" she screamed and Envy began cackling madly._

_ "After all the trouble you went through setting me up for the military to capture, you're honestly going to release me." He asked with a smirk._

_ "And help you get outta here, you must not forget that." the girl added with a big happy grin. Envy snickered as he snapped his chains and sat up. Sheska gasped at the display of raw strength._

_ "Oh no, I mustn't forget that." He told her with false sweetness as Sheska began backing toward the exit. When the homunculus glanced at her, the young woman squeaked and sprinted out the door._

_ "Sheska?" Nicollete said looking around the room. She cursed and spun on Envy, "You scared her! If she's—"_

_ The blind girl grabbed a hold of Envy's arm and tugged him toward the door. The homunculi_ _allowed the small girl to lead him and together they raced after the frightened former librarian._

_ Sheska let fear lead her and skidded around a corner ignoring her friend's cries behind her. It wasn't until she slid around another corner straight into a line of soldiers bearing rifles aimed at her did she remember how dangerous her little adventure had become._

_ As the men brought their arms up to fire at the frozen target before them, Sheska recalled her words earlier to the blind girl. __**Adventures can get someone like her killed**_. _Just as the soldiers fired something crashed into her._

_ Sheska expected some sort of pain but felt none as something sped past her and the sounds of conflict filled the air. Someone whimpered and the woman opened her eyes she didn't realize she had squeezed closed._

_ A vivid red blindfold peered back at her. A wan smile. A dying blind girl. Sheska gasped glancing down at the rapidly expanding blood stain on Nicollete's clothes. Explosions rent the air as the blind girl rolled off of her friend. Sheska drew her into her lap as tears filled her eyes and she began to cry._

_ "I never should have drug you into this, Sheska." Nicollete told her. "This is all my fault."_

_ Sheska gulped hard, hot tears slipping down her cheeks as she whispered a denial. _

_ "I shouldn't have just stood there — and you warned me but I went ahead and now..." exclaimed the older woman shaking her head, plastering her short hair to her face. _

_ Tears dripped down, striking the blindfolded girl on her pale cheeks. She reached up with a bloodied hand and touched the droplets before touching her fingertips to her forehead. Then she smiled up at Sheska, lifting her arms up to her and automatically Sheska placed them on her cheeks._

_ "Shh." The girl told her, moving her hands under Sheska's glasses and over her hazel eyes. "I told you if you came with me, nothing would ever hurt you."_

_ Envy had just finished taking care of the last soldier when he heard the bespectacled young woman gasp. He saw her claw at the slender hands covering eyes, her mouth working silently before whatever was happening became too much for her and she fell back in a dead faint._

_ "Envy, my old friend." He heard Nicollete whisper. The homunculi_ _went to the dying girl's side and knelt beside her._

_ "I'm sorry I won't be able to fulfill that promise I made you." She told him. "But so long as Sheska is alive, my pledge lives on in her."_

_ "She'll show me where __**he**__ is?"_

_ "Yes." the blind girl sighed. "Promise me you'll keep Sheska safe, old friend. Swear you'll keep her away from—"_

_ Envy gently placed a fingertip to her mouth._

_"I promise."_

* * *

><p>Author's note: Sorry for the hold up! If you'd like to know the reasons for it go to my LJ group for details, if not: enjoy the chapter and this sneak peek: someone gets a peek of their own!<p> 


	4. Chapter 4

Sheska awoke to the sound of a shower running and the feel of a soft bed beneath her. She blearily sat up, the springs beneath her letting out a soft squeal and gazed around the room.

A metal chair was wedged underneath the door and sole exit. Dingy drapes were drawn over the window and the single lamp beside the bed was turned on. Only when Sheska noticed her clothes dropped over the dresser drying across from her did she realize she was nude. She let out a self-conscious noise and clutched the blankets to her as the shower cut off and Envy stepped out.

The towel hung dangerously low around his waist revealing more pale skin that even his normal outfit displayed. He had a second towel draped over his head, concealing most of his face and hair but Sheska swore she saw hints of gold.

"Morning." He greeted in a deeper melodious voice she hadn't heard before. Sheska expected Envy's voice to be the same he had been using before, the one that made him sound almost like a feminine chain smoker. The only indication she had it really _was_ Envy peering behind the shadows of the towel was brief peeks of the ouroboros on his thigh as he walked.

"It's morning?" Sheska asked her voice gruff with disuse.

"It was ten in the morning last I looked."

"Where are we?"

"Motel about thirty miles from Central." He answered as he bent down and scrubbed at his hair.

"Did you carry me here?"

She could tell he was smirking when he answered.

"Yes."

Sheska paused, wondering if she should ask the other pressing question on her mind. Should she stick to questions that didn't possibly anger him...or should she stay quiet? After all, her being quiet never hurt anyone…_namely her!_

She heard him snicker.

"The answer to that little question of yours as to how your clothes got the blood removed and made their way onto the dresser: I took them off and cleaned them."

Sheska hid her red face beneath the covers surrounded by Envy's malicious laughter.

His laughter had faded and his words lost their mortifying sting when she next chanced a look. The thread bare motel towel was back on top of his head, pulled back far enough that only his still amused lips were visible beneath the shadows.

"You can change what you...look like, right?" Sheska inquired. Envy sat down in the chair baring the door and casually crossed his legs, baring a stretch of flesh from hip to ankle.

"Ye~s." he drawled in that deep timbered voice. Sheska looked away, a pale pink staining her cheeks and had to clear her throat before she could speak again.

"If you can change your form, why did you take a shower? You wouldn't need—"

"Just because my appearance is different, doesn't mean I don't still have blood, gore and lovely little bit of ick on me." One side of Envy's mouth quirked up as he added, "It's kinda sticky. So wouldn't _you_ want the blood of a friend among _other_ _things_ washed off if the chance arrived?"

Sheska glanced at her wet clothes on the dresser and nodded.

A relaxed silence passed between them. Envy seemed to be content peeking out the window while he waited for his hair to dry beneath the towel while Sheska dozed. The atmosphere was strangely reassuringly average after such a series of odd events.

As she drifted further into sleep, Sheska wondered what the outside observer would see if they could see her and Envy. Would they think they were a couple? Run aways? Or perhaps criminals…_which wasn't too far off_.

A deep chuckle startled Sheska out of her catnap and her eyes snapped over to see Envy watching her amused.

"I can see what you're thinking clear from over here." He told her with a snort. "You're such an open book."

"Sorry some of us aren't freaky aliens." She muttered.

"I'm not an alien." Envy growled. "I was born _right here_ _in this country_ almost four hundred years ago."

"You're _how_ old?" Sheska exclaimed almost dropping the blanket around her in shock. One side of his mouth tilted up and she quickly jerked the blanket to her neck.

"Almost four hundred." He repeated. "Sorry I can't give you an exact number, I kind of lost count."

Envy could clearly see Sheska wrap her mind around the revelation and wondered how well she'd take other things about himself.

"How is that even possible?" she whispered and he snickered.

"I thought you already figured that one out." Envy chuckled. "I'm not human, I'm a homunculus."

"I thought homunculi were soulless dolls? All the books—"

"_Are wrong_!" He snapped and Sheska flinched. Envy sighed and added more gently, "Almost all the books about my kind are written by people who have no idea how we're made or even seen one of us."

"That woman on the train, the one with the killer nails, she's a homunculi too?"

Envy nodded, "Her name's Lust."

"_Obviously_." Sheska replied with a wry laugh that Envy echoed. She looked over at him and said, "I'm Sheska."

"I know."

"Nicollete told you right?"

"Yes, but I knew who you were beforehand." Envy revealed. "I've seen you around the base in Central."

"Ah." Sheska said awkwardly. She took a deep breath, closed her eyes and spat out her question before she could hesitate, "What's your name?"

"Envy" he replied with a smirk.

"Ri-ght, had to be one of the seven deadly sins." Sheska muttered with a scowl and told him. "You seem more like a Wrath than Envy."

"Wrath is a spiteful little brat who has mommy issues."

She could see why Wrath was more deserving of the name—_but still_…

"You don't seem very jealous."

Sheska saw Envy drag the towel off from his head at the same moment he shapeshifted into his preferred form.

"You've only known me for a few hours—_and most of it you spent unconscious_." He snapped rising to his feet. "You really don't know me well enough to assume _any _thing."

Sheska chose to stay silent and watched as Envy viciously scrubbed the water from his hair. She saw him frown and wondered what brought about that scowl. The look on his face seemed distant, as if he were deep in thought.

_What is he thinking, _Sheska asked herself and gently foreign images began to plague her. She knew these visions for what they were and tried fighting the invasion to her mind. But with every struggle, pain viciously assaulted her.

"Sheska!" a distant voice cried as the world began to blur and the fight slowly left her.

The vision began…

* * *

><p>Author's note: See! I posted...just not on the right day. I'm going to have to rework my post day if this keeps up... So sneak peeks: A vision reveals a devious past. Envy shows a softer side...and then completely ruins it.<p> 


	5. Chapter 5

An elderly woman sits in a plush chair before a cheery fire which brings no heat to the cozy room. She has a cup of tea perched on top of a saucer. But the tea nor fire brings any warmth her voice as she speaks to the young man kneeling before her. His head is down and he has not spoken yet, but Sheska knows somewhere deep down the young man is Envy.

"So you've found the child?" she says to him and takes a sip of tea.

"Yes Master." Envy replies strangely humble. "Her name is Nicollete Azure."

The woman chuckles, "Named after her grandmother, how _lovely_. Perhaps it was her mother's way of being close to a parent she had never known."

Envy's elderly master takes another sip of tea before inquiring, "So where is our _dearest _Nicollete?"

"A hospital just outside East City." Envy responds and hurries to explain, "She took a hatchet to her face, hacked out her eyes and a good chunk of her nose."

"She'll live, correct." the woman says calmly. Sheska shudders at the eerily dead tone to her voice that speaks of possible suffering if Envy answers incorrectly.

"Yes Master." he replies promptly. "She did enough damage to take away her eye sight but little else."

"How _little_?" his master's voice began to have an edge and both Envy and Sheska flinch.

"The doctors mentioned a strong possibility that she wouldn't have a sense of smell. There was a lot of blood loss but she reached the hospital in time for that not to be a serious issue."

"But her _eye sight_…"

"Completely gone."

"Then she will become more devoted to me than her mother ever was. I, who took in a blind little girl after her mother and father's tragic demise at an _abomination's _hands." His master smiles, "This time I will finally have that family's omniscience power."

Envy winces and tells her in a meek and chagrin voice, "She's been committed."

"Oh?" Sheska can tell beneath the cool tone the word was spoken in, Envy's master is livid…_extremely livid_.

"_Dearest _Nicollete told the doctors _exactly how _she became blind and a rather attention-grabbing reason why she did it." he tells her and continues without prompting in a perfect imitation of what the girl sounded like.

"So I wouldn't have to see it anymore."

The elderly woman bursts into laughter and Envy visibly relaxes. Her amusement is long lived and full of honest bubbly mirth. When finally her pleasure at the little girl's expense is over, she speaks in tone laced with sinister delight.

"Well, it appears the girl has begun the game without me. Since she's made her move, I shall make mine." his master smiles and motions for him to rise.

"Have our Pride arrange for her to be transferred to an institution in Central. He can better keep his Ultimate Eye on her that way. Then go introduce yourself to Miss Azure."

"Who should I tell her I am?"

"If she is her mother's child, you won't have to say a thing." His master smiles, "She'll know who you are already."

Everything was dim and blurry. Distorted shadows of furniture merged with the gloom of the walls. From the bathroom, the sound of water running could be heard once more. Then it suddenly cuts off and Envy stepped out almost exactly like before.

Only this time, Sheska could determine he was dressed. He wasn't in a good mood, if his silence was any indication. And he was holding a wash cloth which he immediately placed on her aching brow.

"What was it this time?" Envy asked quietly. It was almost as if he was trying to be nice, sensing that if he spoke any louder it would make her head hurt more than it already did.

"You knew her mother."

"Oh, you saw _that_." Envy smiled brightly, "Told you her and I had a history."

"You did something to her parents."

Sheska heard him sigh and the homunculi's smile turned sardonic.

"You're not going bother denying it, are you?"

"Kinda pointless lying to a psychic."

The stabbing pain in Sheska's head had reduced to an aching throbbing behind her eyes. She compared it to times she stayed up too late and woke too early. Sheska rubbed at her eyes and sighed.

"You aren't going to ask, are you?" Envy said smirking. "You won't ask why I killed them? When I saw her mother grow up practically before my eyes, you aren't going to inquire how I could have murdered her and then her husband?"

Sheska shook her head, recalling the words from her first vision since they seemed so apt and replied, "It's because you're an abomination."

In the face of those familiar words Envy subtly recoiled, a movement the former librarian sensed rather than saw. Had an outside observer been present, all they would have noticed was an insignificant twitch.

_That first vision…that was about him. Who called him that…Why would those exact words affect him enough to flinch when nothing else has?_

"Mindless killing, that's what I do!" Envy exclaimed viciously bright. But she could tell...

"I'm not the only person who's called you that, am I."

"Oh no, I hear it all the time. It's my nickname— Abomination, that's me!"

"You hate it." Information she couldn't have possibly had known began flooding her mind. No visions, just facts.

"Abomination is your nickname so to take the sting out of it. You think if you hear it enough times it'll stop hurting. That the—"

She was on the cusp of another vision. It lurked at the edges of her mind. Crouched and ready to spring. It would bring enlightenment and pain. Knowledge but suffering. All Sheska had to do was reach out for it. She would know and bear the consequences for her curiosity. _For trespassing on God's territory_…

"_Stop_." Envy snapped cutting her words off with a hand to her throat. His fingers twitched dangerously, a subtle threat between them.

Sheska was wide eyed, quiet and shook with fright. Still beneath the blanket she was naked as a babe, defenseless and if Envy chose, he could easily kill her. But in some not unfamiliar way, she knew he wouldn't. Envy smiled gleefully, sliding his hand away from her neck then leaned close.

"Your body can't handle two visions back to back." he told her casual and jesting despite the gravity of his words. "You're new at this, take a break."

Envy chuckled as he leaned away from her and winked adding, "The shower's free."

Sheska watched him mutely as he sauntered over to the dresser and tossed her clothes to her. Then he went to the door and stood before the chair, his back toward her still. She looked down at the clothing in her lap unmoving.

"Go take a shower. This'll probably be your last chance for awhile and it'll give me time to think of what the heck we're gonna do now."

"You won't peek?" she asked, her voice sounding rather hoarse to her ears.

"I've seen enough of you naked to last me a lifetime." he snickered.

"Likeiaskedyouto _strip me_." Sheska muttered as she snatched up her clothes.

She tossed off the covers on the bed, the springs letting out a horrible squeak and quickly climbed from the bed and darted into the bathroom. Sheska slammed the door behind her and Envy fought the urge to burst into laughter.


End file.
